Thundering. Thursday.

One of the most awesome things about New Orleans happens to be the (almost) daily afternoon thunderstorms.  I love them.  The Choggie, however, is NOT a fan.  She's crammed up under my desk - on my feet - which are gradually falling asleep.  It's so dark out right now it looks like twilight (and I'm not talking about that idiot who writes about "sparkly" vampires - I'm a "True Blood" kind of girl) and it's raining.  Our weather forecast doesn't look so hot for the festivities this weekend:

^^  Thunder-y every day!!

^^  Choggles is currently sitting on my feet.  Her head is the only thing that is NOT under my desk...

I'm super excited because four of my roller derby sisters are coming in tomorrow night - and then it's the Running of the Bulls on Saturday!!!  Husby and I have also decided to have a throw-down-hoe-down on Saturday night - while I'm boozing with the bulls, my better half will be smoking a beef brisket (an all-day process).  We'll be serving it on fresh po' boy bread with a choice of spicy ho'made BBQ sauce or a more traditional debris sauce.  Crackers, chips, dips, veggie tray, and LOTS of booze (okay - cheap wine and beer) will round out the party nicely.  We'll also be making a Southern Comfort pound cake (utterly delicious) for dessert.

Yesterday, I popped over to the French Quarter to pick up some tees for our upcoming weekend festivities, and popped in to The Red Lantern to get some socks to wear on Saturday (knee-socks for derby girls are pretty much mandatory!!) and I found the coolest little owl wristlet bag that has enough room to hold all necessary items.  It was a little pricey, but well worth it.  Check it out:

^^  Sorry it's a little blurry - but the caption reads "It's the little things".  <3

^^  Beer socks!!  I'm going to wear them with my black low Chuck Taylors - sexy, eh???

Annnnnnnnnnnd...  I dragged my friend A. over to The Company Burger (scroll down for the menu and booze listing) so that I could get my delicious fix.  At first, A. was a little wigged out that they don't put lettuce OR tomato on their burgers (they don't even have it on hand - the back of the staff tee shirts reads "BYO L & T").  Personally, I'm okay with this because lettuce always ends up wilt-y and nasty from the heat of the burger AND I prefer my tomatoes on their own or in a cold crisp salad.  Needless to say, A. is now a convert and has agreed that the lack of tomato and lettuce are not that bothersome (this was AFTER she tasted the awesomeness of their burgers).  Go on, it's okay to drool:

^^  Single with onions, cheese, bacon, pickles, and ketchup... small order of red onion rings and tots...

And this has pretty much summed up my week thus far.  Although, after looking at the picture of my delicious meal, I must say that I could probably totally go and grab another one.  Alas, my hips and ass would NOT appreciate this type of a meal TWICE in one week.  :0((  So, just because I'm feeling defiant, I'll leave you with this:

^^  Vag power!!

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Fab Fashionista (for Derby).

So.  Today (after I met up with L. at the gym, popped in to the commissary, put groceries away, and bathed my sweaty ass), I realized that my loyalty card to Fleurty Girl would be filled up today IF I bought two new tee shirts (you receive double-stamps on your loyalty card every Tuesday).  Which means, I could get a *free* shirt!!  Ooh, la la!!  Since I had to run out to the post office, I figured I'd just pop across the river and do a little shopping.  Imagine my surprise when I found TWO of the tees I wanted were marked down to $10 each... so, I ended up getting four shirts for the cost of less than two (full retail).  Score!!  I feel like ol' Charlie Sheen today...  WINNING!!

One of the reasons why I wanted to pick some new tees out is because on Saturday, I'm heading up to Shreveport.  I'll be score keeping for my favorite flat-track roller derby team...  the Twin City Knockers (also known as TCK).  I simply needed something funky to wear for that event.  Now my biggest problem is choosing EXACTLY which tee to wear for the bout (as I can't wear anything with the TCK logo on it)...  I might have to draw straws.

Here are my finds:

 ^^  In New Orleans, the medians are known as the "Neutral Ground".  

Apparently, this is a hold-over from when the French and Spanish had colonized southern Louisiana.  The area between the settlements was known as "The Neutral Ground".  

 ^^  City of New Orleans - Ordinance No. 3267 (March 10, 1857).  NOLA was a trashy whore back then, and she's a trashy whore now.  However, the houses of "ill repute" are now lovely bed & breakfasts gracing the Garden District and Uptown.  The only indication that they were brothels are the red gaslights lighting the doorways at night.

 ^^  The Sazerac is one of the most famous drinks in New Orleans.  You can still order one at many restaurants - however, the absinthe which is used in the drink has changed.  Spirits distilled with wormwood (which is what gives absinthe it's hallucinogenic properties) is illegal in the United States.

 ^^  Well, Boston wasn't acknowledged in this quote.  However, I simply think that the author overlooked the awesomeness.  He's dead, so I suppose I can forgive him for this transgression.  ;0))

^^  And just for shits and giggles... this was the line at the commissary today.  Now, you may feel inclined to ask me just how many registers were actually open today... and I'd have to tell you that there were TWO.  And one was the express lane (15 items or less) and they didn't have the self-checkout open, either (personally, I can't stand the self-checkout because I never seem to be able to place anything properly in the damned bags).  Anyhow, the retirees converge at 11:00 AM - note to self. 

So far, this has been the pinnacle of my exciting week.  I'm very excited to be heading to Shreveport early on Saturday morning to help set up the track at 1:00 - and then the bout happens at 7:00 PM (of course, the doors open earlier and it's a BYOB event - $5.00/cooler - no glass bottles).  It is going to be a blast!!  I'll post a whole bunch of pics when I get home on Sunday afternoon.  

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Boutiques + Comics = Happiness.

The husband introduced me this weekend to "Fleurty Girl" stores here in New Orleans.

**SWOON**

In serious love.  Really.  Funky, original clothing, jewelry, home accessories, and other oddities which caught my eye.  Most (if not all) of the items are made here by local artists.  Original designs, neighborhood tees, handmade soap, candles, and other items (there's a NOLA Water/Sewer manhole cover rug that I'm going to be scoring soon!!)...  Walked out of the store with this gem:

^^ Your eyes do NOT deceive you!!  It is the GO-CUP hanging in front of the Superdome and CBD!!

This tee shirt is what I want to buy next (and trust me, I already have started my Wish List):

^^  This would be one of the best roller derby tee shirts.  Ever.

You can order from their online catalogue and support local business here in New Orleans.  If you get a chance to come to our fair city, there are a couple of different locations.  

French Quarter Fleurty Girl

632 St. Peter Street

NOLA  70116

Magazine Street Fleurty Girl

3117 Magazine Street

NOLA  70115

Metairie Fleurty Girl

3313 Severn @ 17th Street Avenue

Metarie  70002

Mandeville Fleurty Girl

2885 Hwy 190 

Suite C

Mandeville  70471

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Before we visited Fleurty Girl, we went to a hole-in-the-wall comic book store that husby found.  Ever since we've unearthed his childhood comic collection (all six huge long boxes worth), he's been going through and trying to fill up any *holes* AND the husby has started buying again!!  :0))  Plus, we're both huge fans of Kevin Smith and his show on AMC - "Comic Book Men" (which is utterly hilarious - for the Geeks, at least).  Anyhow, we spent a good amount of time browsing over at "BSI Comics" (their motto is:  "We've Got ISSUES!!" which is very catchy IMO) and I fell in love with Popeye the Sailor Man (again - his cartoon was one of my favorites) and husby scored with a Fantastic 4 (volume something-or-other).  

I've already started collecting Stephen King's Dark Tower series graphic novels - but I got schooled when I found out that they've also released a series based on "The Stand".  They MUST join the collection.  Oh, my precioussssssssssssssssss...  (yet another Geek referral).  

^^  My selection.

^^  Part of my book collection.  The entire wall is filled - and I got rid of EIGHT cases before we moved here (please disregard the sloppiness - but I have a *system* or sorts in place).

French Quarter Festival is coming up!!  April 11th through the 14th - it's the biggest FREE music festival in the South.  If you're a music lover, you might want to try and visit during this time next year. Between the music, the food, and the people - this is my little slice of heaven.

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Shoes and a Blimp.

Let's discuss proper footwear for the French Quarter, shall we??  On my romp through the French Market (bought some freshly-made Pico de Gallo, vine-ripened tomatoes, and green bell peppers) I couldn't help but notice what type of shoes people (especially women) were wearing.

Cringed at the chick hanging on to her old man for dear life while she wobbled in her 6-inch-spike-hooker-heels, winced at how a woman was walking on platforms - on cobblestones, and witnessed another poor fashion victim wearing fancy sandals who was watching every step she took to avoid falling.  New Orleans has BAD sidewalks and even worse streets.  The city is below sea level and so the plumbing and everything else is odd.  And it's like most typical American cities - always under construction.

The ONLY way I would wear some fancy-schmancy shoes out would be if I were getting into a limo or a cab from the hotel/motel/inn that picked me up where I was staying (and then going to a restaurant/pub/gastro-pub) and picking me BACK up and deposited me at my hotel/motel/inn.  No walking involved.  Absolutely NOT.  Even in $32.99 pumps from Payless - not happening.  I have seen ruined Jimmy Choos shoes in trash bins - and that is a sad, sad thing.

So, this is what I wear:

^^  $20-buck-Chuck One Stars

These cheap-ass Chuck-Taylor One Stars from Target.  Once they are broken in, they are surprisingly comfortable.  The rubber soles, tips, and additional rubber AROUND the shoe protect your feet from some of the street nastiness.  And, because they are canvas - they can be washed!!  I prefer the slip on style so I don't have to worry about laces getting all nasty and dragging around in the dirty streets.  

Oh, and that is the Choggie's rear-end and tail.  She wouldn't budge.  Probably not even for chicken.  Apologies for not cropping out the dog's ass in the picture.

And, then, sitting on my back porch after all my shoe contemplation...  I see...

^^  A Blimp!!

I think it's a DirectTV blimp because they've got some stuff going on with the Super Bowl coverage and all.  And even though it's a down-and-dirty iPhone photo, I still thought it was pretty neat.  From what I understand, there should be planes doing sky-writing over this weekend, so I hope to catch some shots of that (and maybe a parade or two).

But just remember, people...  pick your shoes WISELY.

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